


Torn

by BlueJaySkies



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M, Magic, Multi, Romance, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:54:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23438770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueJaySkies/pseuds/BlueJaySkies
Summary: Varian encounters two princes by the names Cooper and Morgan Skies, who are from an allied kingdom of Corona. Varian falls for Prince Cooper, but falling for royalty comes with an experience Varian never dreamed he'd face. How long will this royal romance hold up? Can Varian handle the dark truth behind the Skies' family history?
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel, Original Character/Original Character, Varian (Disney)/Original Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29





	1. Prince Not So Charming

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place right after Great Expotations. I tried my best to tie it into the series without changing too much of the show's plot, but since this story focuses on Varian and my ocs, that wasn't too much of an issue. And yes, the romance in this story is supposed to be really cheesy. Your welcome. Enjoy!

It was the day after the science expo, and there was still a lot to clean up after Varian’s invention caused quite a bit of damage. Naturally he was back the next day to help clean up the mess that remained. And thankfully he was almost done!  
“Hi Varian!” Rapunzel ran over to greet him with a smile,”Wow! It almost looks like yesterday never happened! Good job!”  
Varian chuckled nervously,”Well this uh, wouldn’t be the first time I've caused a huge mess.”  
“Don’t worry, it wasn’t your fault.” Rapunzel gently placed a comforting hand on his shoulder,”I’m sorry I couldn’t help you clean up today, I have a lot on my schedule.”  
“Anything I can help with? I’m almost done here so I got time!” Varian offered.  
“Oh no, you don’t have to-“ Rapunzel paused, thinking things over and realizing a helping hand would actually be kind of nice,”Actually, can you do me a huge favor?”  
“Of course! What do you need me to do?”  
“Well, we’re hosting two princes this week. Not for anything big, they’re just on vacation and wanted to see what Corona is like. Their kingdom, Caerulus, is an ally of Corona, so I really want to make sure they have a good time! Do you think you could give them a tour of the town when they get here?”  
“Oh I don’t know.” Varian shyly scratched the back of his head,”That sounds like a really important job and I’m scared I’ll mess it up. I mean, do I look like someone that’s qualified to speak with princes?”  
“Well, you’re friends with a princess aren’t you?” Rapunzel pointed out with a playful smirk.  
“Yeah but that’s different-“  
“AND these princes are your age! When was the last time you talked with someone your age?” She teased, amused at Varian's annoyed expression.  
Varian rolled his eyes,”Ok, now you’re just pushing it!”  
“So you’ll do it?”  
Varian sighed dramatically, "Fiiiiine! When do they get here?”  
“Oh probably not till-“ Rapunzel was interrupted by the sound of the palace gates opening,”Till now apparently!”  
Varian started to feel tense as he looked over and saw the guards escorting two blonde princes through the gates. They were identical twins! Even the white horses they rode on were identical! Their outfits were the same too. Extremely tight pants, white button up shirt with long sleeves, and a silky vest, but one was wearing a red vest and the other was wearing blue. To make things even more cliche, they both had those obnoxious capes you'd usually see princes wear in fairy tale books, with their corresponding colors of course! And talk about those gaudy crowns! Was that many gems necessary?  
However, as they got closer, Varian quickly noticed the differences between the two, despite looking identical. The red one kind of slouched, and his smile seemed really nervous and forced. Not to mention his hair was a bit frizzy and unkempt. Whereas his brother in blue just had this confident, regal aura about him. He seemed like he loved the attention. His hair was flawless, and his complexion was pretty damn clear for a young teenager.  
Rapunzel waved to them happily,"Prince Cooper! Prince Morgan! Its nice to see you!"  
"Lovely to see you as well, Princess Rapunzel." The blue one stepped off his horse and bowed graciously, then looking at his brother with a glare,"Cooper! Say something!"  
"Oh! Right!" The red one, who Varian now knew was Cooper, clumsily got off his horse and tried to bow as gracefully as his brother but was still a little stumbly,"Its great to see you too, Princess Rapunzel! And, uh, boy with goggles! Wow you have really cool hair! Um, not that your hair isn't cool too, princess! It is! I mean, who would have known hair could get that long-"  
Before he could finish talking, Morgan elbowed him in the ribs,"Ok, never mind. Stop talking."  
Varian and Rapunzel couldn't help but laugh at Cooper's awkwardness, but they did their best to hide it, not wanting to be rude. Maybe this wouldn't be as hard as Varian thought it would be. Cooper was kind of relatable.  
Rapunzel pushed her giggles aside and began the introductions,"Well, the boy in goggles is Varian, and he'll be showing you two around today. Varian, this is Prince Cooper and Morgan Skies. Make sure they have a good time, ok?"  
"Nice to meet you Varian," Cooper smiled awkwardly,"I'm sorry for my weird introduction. I mean, I do really think your hair and goggles are cool so I don't know why I'm apologizing, but what I'm trying to say is-"  
"Oh my god this is so painful to watch! Here I'll introduce yourself for you!" Morgan interrupted, walking up to Varian and gently talking his hand, "What my brother is trying to say is: Hi, my name is Prince Cooper Osiris Skies. After such long travels, a beautiful face like yours is a sight for sore eyes. I'm looking forward to getting to know you, Varian."  
Morgan kissed Varian's hand, and gave him a wink, causing both Varian and Cooper to turn red.  
"HEY!" Cooper smacked Morgan's arm, only causing Morgan to laugh.  
"I'm doing you a favor, Cooper! No need to get aggressive!" Morgan replied teasingly.  
Rapunzel smiled brightly. A prince? Having a crush on her loner alchemy friend? She knew giving Varian this assignment was a good idea!  
"I'll let you boys be! Lots of princess responsibilities to do! Have fun!" And with that, Rapunzel hurried away, leaving Varian alone with the two princes.  
"Well!" Morgan put his arms around Cooper and Varian, bringing them a little closer,"I should take my leave too!"  
"Where the hell are you going?!" Cooper asked pointedly.  
"Oh believe me, brother. I can find the town's hot spots by myself. Starting with that cute little seamstress we saw on the way over here. Farewell my dear awkward peers! I wish you the best!" Morgan let them go and took off without a care in the world. He was certain his brother would thank him later.  
Cooper and Varian stood in silence. Neither of them knew what to say. They were both so socially inept, they didn't know where to take things from here.  
But brave Cooper finally mustered the courage to speak up once he couldn't handle the awkward silence anymore,"Once again, I'm really sorry about my awkward introduction. I don't really get out much."  
"Its ok, I'm a little awkward too," Varian chuckled nervously as he fidgeted with his gloves,"I don't really get to talk to people my age very often, so this is a new social situation for me too."  
"Well, I'm glad to know I'm not alone," Cooper smiled softly, causing Varian's face to turn pink.  
Varian felt so confused. Why did his face feel hot? Why was his heart beating so fast? Why was he actually looking forward to spending time with this prince? He was a walking cliche for crying out loud!  
"Um, why I don't I start showing you around?" Varian suggested, throwing his flustered thoughts aside as he made his way out the castle gates with Cooper at his side.

❧

"Wow! This is the best candy I've ever tasted!" Cooper exclaimed as they left Uncle Monty's candy shop, lollipops in hand.  
Varian laughed at Cooper's ecstatic reaction,"Yeah! I used to come here all the time as a kid! When I was really little, Uncle Monty would just give me candy for free."  
"Wait, that's your uncle?" Cooper asked with a confused expression.  
"Oh no! Everyone calls him that!" Varian replied,"Except Rapunzel. They don't get along very well."  
"Eh. Most royals don't get along with citizens," Cooper shrugged as he took another lick of his lollipop,"Like my mom for example, the citizens hate her. They think she causes way too many problems."  
"W-what does she do?" Varian hesitated, unsure if this was an inappropriate question to ask.  
Cooper sighed,"She just started yet another war. Her problem is that she doesn't know how to keep her mouth shut. She humiliates people with her words without any thought of consequences! And then she tries to argue that she was in the right because she was calling people out on their problematic actions, but was it really worth sending your people to war yet again?"  
Varian frowned. Poor Cooper seemed so distressed. Varian didn't even know what to say. What could he say to make things better? He had nothing!  
"I'm sorry for ranting there," Cooper apologized,"It just...kinda came out. You're really easy to talk to, Varian."  
"I suppose," Varian blushed lightly,"Hopefully you feel better after letting that out?"  
"A little bit, yeah!" Cooper gently placed his hand on Varian's shoulder, giving him a soft, tender smile, "Thank you for listening."  
"Uh, yeah! No problem!" Varian silently panicked at Cooper's touch,"Um, why don't we head to the town square! There's always a lot going on over there!"  
❧  
Cooper sighed contentedly as he sat by the fountain, watching the people of Corona go about their lives,"Man, this is so nice! Everything seems so peaceful!"  
Varian chuckled,"I don't know if peaceful is the right word. Hectic, maybe."  
"This? Hectic? Far from it!" Cooper argued, thinking about his own kingdom and the people in it,"You wanna see hectic? Try walking around Caerulus in the afternoon on a Saturday. Awful! There's people everywhere!"  
Varian raised an eyebrow, pondering if it was even possible for a place to be that crowded,"Is Caerulus really that big?"  
"Oh yeah!" Cooper replied with a huff, the thought of the crowds filling him with dread,"It doesn't matter how many different evemts you attend, there's always new people to meet! And of course they ALL want to meet the prince of their kingdom."  
"That sounds stressful," Varian admitted,"I couldn't imagine having to deal with that much socialization."  
"I mean, you get used to it," Cooper sighed, looking out into the town square with a distant look in his eye,"But still, I much prefer this. Everyone seems so happy and carefree. Not a single person has tried to kiss up to me. Its like you're a part of the scene, instead of it stopping as soon as you join in. No expectations. No one trying too hard to get your attention. No crowds following you around. That's what peaceful is to me."  
"No offense but your people sound insane." Varian teased with a playful smile.  
Cooper laughed,"Well you're not wrong!"  
The two boys laughed together, not even realizing they were sitting much closer to each other compared to when the conversation started. Cooper regained his composure and leaned back comfortably.  
"Enough about me and my crazy life! Tell me about you!"  
"Oh, um," Varian looked away bashfully, not even knowing where to start. His life was so dull compared to Cooper's. He'd probably just bore him.  
Cooper could tell Varian was struggling to find something to say, and decided to help him out,"Let's start with the goggles! Is that just a Corona fashion trend or...?"  
"Haha! No!" Varian laughed as he straightened out his goggles,"I uh, well I kinda have a thing for alchemy and these things keep chemicals out of my eyes!"  
"Oh neat!" Cooper sat up excitedly,"My tutor is an alchemist too! He made me memorize ALL the elements."  
Varian raised an eyebrow, "Did you actually memorize them?"  
"For a brief moment, yeah. I forgot most of them as soon as he stopped testing me though. I bet you know all about that stuff though! What kind of projects have you done?"  
"Do you want to know about just the successful ones or-?"  
"All of them! Just because a project didn't turn out as planned doesn't mean it wasn't beneficial. Any discovery whether good or bad gets you somewhere!"  
Varian sat there with a shocked expression. Why the hell did this pretty boy prince know about how science works? Also why was Cooper's insight the most attractive thing Varian had ever heard?  
"Well, in that case, where do I even start?"  
Varian told Cooper all about his crazy experiments. Even the failed stuff. The machines he tried to make in Old Corona, the creation of Cassandrium, the raccoon traps, and even his attempts of trying to figure out what Rapunzel's hair was made of. And Cooper was such a good listener! He just sat there with a big smile, intrigued by everything Varian had to say.  
"That's so impressive Varian!" Cooper exclaimed,"Man, my tutor would be so jealous! He's been trying so hard to create a new element but was never able to!"  
"Really? I would think a royal tutor would have all the resources to do that."  
"Maybe you just saw an angle he didn't. Not to mention you're really smart and talented!"  
Varian blushed,"Oh I don't know-"  
"You are! Don't fight me on this!" Cooper insisted.  
"Ok ok!" Varian gave in, giving Cooper a soft smile,"Thank you, your highness."  
Cooper smiled back, unable to shift his focus away from Varian's eyes,"Call me Cooper."  
Varian's heart started to race, "Cooper..."  
Cooper leaned in closer, running his hand through Varian's hair. Varian felt as if his breath was taken away at Cooper's touch. He closed his eyes and waited for their lips to meet.  
But they were abruptly interrupted by the sound of sudden music. A few townspeople decided to play their instruments in the middle of the town square, a few people stopping to listen. It kind of startled both of them, and they looked away from each other with a red tint on both their faces.  
"Hey um," Cooper gently grabbed Varian's hand, gaining back his confidence to look Varian in the eye,"Do you want to dance?"  
Varian didn't think his face could turn any redder, but apparently he was wrong,"I-...I don't know how-"  
"Don't worry, I'll show you!" Cooper got on his feet and dragged Varian to the middle of the square with him,"Just follow my lead."  
Varian was a little wobbly and awkward at first, especially because he was so nervous! Everyone was staring at them! People were whispering! Why were people whispering?!  
Cooper noticed how nervous Varian was, and spoke in a soft calming voice,"Don't be nervous. You're doing great. People are only starring because I'm a prince. Just ignore them. Its just me, you, and the music."  
Varian took a deep breath and let the words sink in. It was just him and Cooper. Just him and this wonderful boy who was full of surprises that took his breath away. He's got this!  
Varian began to relax and let Cooper lead their dance. Being spun around and being brought closer to the prince felt a lot more wonderful than Varian thought it would.  
Cooper wrapped his arms around Varian from behind and just swayed with the music,"You're a fast learner. I hope you're enjoying this as much as I am."  
Varian rested his head against Cooper's chest,"Much more than you can imagine."  
"Can we do this again tomorrow?" Cooper asked, whispering in Varian's ear,"I know that I'm supposed to be getting familiar with Corona but I'd much prefer to get familiar with you."  
"You can do both, you know. Like what we did today!"  
"So we're going on another date?"  
Varian playfully rolled his eyes,"Is that what you'd call this?"  
Cooper turned Varian around, facing him and holding him close,"If this isn't a date then explain why I have the biggest urge to kiss you."  
"Good point." Varian wrapped his arms around Cooper, ready to try this kissing thing again. He was going to have his first kiss with this boy if it killed him-  
"Varian!" Alas, another interruption. Unfortunately by Varian's father this time.  
"Uh oh!" Varian quickly let go of Cooper and backed away to a more appropriate distance.  
"Its getting late! You were supposed to be home an hour ago!" Quirin lectured.  
"I-I'm sorry, dad. Its just that uh-"  
"It's my fault, sir." Cooper chimed in.  
"And care to explain what you were doing keeping my son out late-" Quirin stopped when he realized who he was talking to,"Oh, Prince Skies!"  
And once again, Cooper's royal status was going to save the day! Or so he thought.  
"Prince or not, neither of you should be out this late! Come on, Varian, we're going home!" Quirin dragged Varian away by the arm.  
Varian looked back at Cooper waving with a bittersweet expression, "I'll see you tomorrow!"  
Cooper blew him a kiss before heading back to the palace,"Goodbye my dear alchemy boy!"  
Quirin sighed and rolled his eyes. He was happy for his son, and very impressed he managed to get a prince's attention of all people, but good god he didn't expect his boy to be dating so soon! What the hell?! Stop growing up, child!


	2. Getting to Know the Skies Brothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varian and Cooper go on a date while Morgan learns something new about himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare yourself for another cheesy chapter! But don't worry, the drama/action will come soon ;)

Cooper sat on the bed while Morgan worked on his hair, telling him all about his date with Varian,"And then I said: If this isn't a date than why do I have the biggest urge to kiss you!"  
"OOOOOOH!" Morgan exclaimed loudly having to put his comb down for a moment,"Man, I knew you had it in you, ya big dork! So did you like it?"  
"Like what? The date? Yeah, it was great!" Cooper replied.  
"No, idiot! I mean kissing! Isn't it awesome?"  
"Oh um," Cooper laughed nervously,"Unfortunately his dad came over and dragged him away before we could kiss."  
Morgan cringed as he got back to working on his hair "Ew, that's like the worse thing that could happen."  
"But I get to see him today!"  
"Good! You better come back with a first kiss story or a else I'm locking you out!"  
"You can't lock me out! I'll just ask one of the maids to let me in!" Cooper argued.  
Morgan chuckled as he checked himself out of mirror,"Already charmed a few of them. Find a new plan."  
Cooper groaned,"We haven't even been here a full twenty four hours yet and you've already flirted with the maids?"  
"That's not true!" Morgan grinned, putting his crown on,"We did much more than just flirting."  
Cooper rolled his eyes, quickly making his way out,"You disgust me."  
As Cooper reached for the door handle, the door flung open, wacking him in the face and forcing him to take a few steps back,"Ouch!"  
"Oh! Sorry, Cooper!" It was Rapunzel, who was now frantically making sure she hadn't hurt Cooper too much,"I was just really excited to come ask you guys about how yesterday went!"  
Cooper rubbed his injured forehead, glaring at Morgan with side eye that could kill,"Actually Rapunzel, some of us had a little too much fun."  
Morgan could tell where Cooper was taking this, and effortlessly shifted the focus,"Cooper and Varian almost kissed and then Varian's dad yelled at them."  
Rapunzel gasped excitedly,"What?! No way! Wow, that was fast!"  
"Morgan!" Cooper yelled.  
Morgan smirked mischievously, refusing to stand down from this passive fight,"It's cute, isn't it? I wonder if his dad will let him visit Caerulus one day."  
"Varian would love it there!" Rapunzel agreed,"Your kingdom is full of libraries and museums! Not to mention the amount of famous scientist from Caerulus is astonishing!"  
Cooper blushed lightly,"It would be nice to take him there. But that's not what I was trying to say! You see-"  
"You see, princess-" Morgan interrupted once more,"Cooper has never had a romantic relationship before and he's really scared he's going to mess this up."  
"I can help!" Rapunzel smiled brightly,"Just follow my lead and you two will have the best date ever!"  
"That's really not-" But before Cooper could protest, Rapunzel was dragging him out the door.  
Morgan laughed, impressed with his own abilities to sway a scenario in his favor. With those two gone, he was free to explore the kingdom his own way. Which of course included running around town flirting with every attractive person he saw. He had quite a good day ahead of him.  
❧  
"Its going to be ok, Cooper!" Cooper said to himself, taking deep calming breaths as he approached Varian's house. He just had to remember the pep talk Rapunzel gave him earlier. She advised him to be himself, to just have fun and that he had nothing to worry about! It was good advice, but he was still so nervous,"Just breath! Relax!"  
"Is someone feeling tense?"  
Cooper jumped, startled as he turned around to see Varian. Where the hell did he come from?  
"Noooo! No! Not tense at all! I'm great!" Cooper grinned nervously, poorly hiding his lies.  
Varian laughed, not convinced by Cooper's response,"Its ok! We're going to have fun! Come on!"  
Varian took Cooper's hand and lead him away from his house. Cooper's heart was about to beat out of his chest! He wasn't even paying attention to where they were going! He was too focused on the fact that Varian was actually holding his hand!   
But to Cooper's disappointment, the walk wasn't very long. Varian stopped on top of a small hill, which had a pretty decent view of Corona's beautiful scenery. There were vast fields, trees, flowers, everything Cooper wasn't used to seeing on a daily basis.  
"Here we are!" Varian let go of Cooper's hand and began setting up a picnic blanket. Cooper was so busy having a gay panic attack he didn't even notice Varian was carrying a basket this whole time.  
"This is so beautiful!" Cooper began to relax as he looked at view,"I never thought nature could look this pretty without a gardener to maintain it!"  
"Yup, you're a sheltered prince, alright!" Varian teased as he sat down and patted the space next to him,"Here, have a seat."  
Cooper happily sat down, quickly making himself comfortable.  
"You hungry?" Varian asked, opening the picnic basket.  
Cooper laughed nervously,"Yeah, I skipped breakfast."  
"Been there before!" Varian chuckled as he handed Cooper a sandwich.  
"Oh thank you!" Cooper smiled, cheerfully taking a bite,"Oh my god this is amazing!"  
"Calm down, its just a sandwich." Varian teased, getting ready to eat his own sandwich.  
"But its so good!" Cooper continued, taking another bite.  
Varian sat there, looking confused as hell. Until he realized,"Wait, have you never had a sandwich before?"  
Cooper shook his head as he swallowed his food,"Well, I've had the fancy little finger sandwiches! But they're always so bland or gross. This actually tastes good!"  
Varian smiled, amused by how excited Cooper was over something so simple,"Well, I'm glad you like it. So, why don't you tell me a bit more about Caerulus!"  
❧  
"Must you go so soon?" Just as Morgan had planned, he was kissing up to some random pretty girl he met in town,"May I at least have a kiss goodbye?"  
Morgan got his goodbye kiss, but as the girl left Morgan heard someone loudly clearly their throat behind him. He turned around and immediately forced a smile,"Oh! Princess Rapunzel! Fancy seeing you here!"  
Rapunzel crossed her arms, giving a Morgan a fake smile, almost mocking in tone,"She seems nice!"  
"Oh! Yeah. Yeah she is-"  
"Of course that young maid that works in my castle is also pretty nice. Along with my tailor's nephew." Rapunzel bluntly stated, her smile fading to a glare.  
Morgan dropped the charismatic act and sighed defeatedly,"You knew?"  
"Its hard to ignore when you over hear several people claiming they're in a romantic relationship with Prince Morgan Skies!" Rapunzel grabbed Morgan by the arm and started walking back to the castle,"Walk with me, Morgan. I was going to go check up on Cooper and Varian but I think this is more pressing."  
"Where are you taking me?" Morgan asked as he complied.  
"Just for a short walk. We need to chat!"  
"Ah, so a lecture! Got it."  
❧  
"Is there really a science museum in Caerulus?!" Varian sat up attentively as he listened to Cooper talk about his kingdom.  
"Yeah! You'd love it! There's the history section, which is basically dedicated to famous scientists of the past and some of the tools they used and the things they created! But what I think you'd love most is the demonstration room! That's where people show guests how research is conducted, or demonstrate how certain scientific concepts work!" Cooper began to laugh as he reminisced of his memories going to the museum,"There was this one time they were trying to show off this chemical compound, I forgot what it was exactly, but I remember the demonstrator used the wrong chemical and there was a small explosion! No one was hurt but it was really funny!"  
Varian laughed at Cooper's story,"I've done that so many times! That's why I started wearing goggles all the time! You never know when you might accidentally mix the wrong thing!"  
"Oh goodness, you haven't hurt yourself before, have you?" Cooper asked, concern on his face.  
"I have one small burn on my hand but that's about it." Varian shrugged, believing it wasn't a very big deal,"That's what these gloves are for!"  
Cooper smiled,"Well, I'm glad you're being careful."  
Varian wanted to smile back, but this weird wave of bashfulness came over him. He didn't normally act like this, which made him feel a little silly. Is this how people normally act around people they like? It wasn't a bad feeling, just a new one.  
Varian avoided Cooper's gaze as he continued to talk,"You know, you haven't told me any of your hobbies. I know a lot about Prince Cooper but I don't know much about Cooper."  
"Oh! Well, uh," Cooper was taken aback, flattered by how Varian phrased his question,"Lately I've been learning how to use a sword."  
Varian curiously raised an eyebrow,"Oh?"  
"I'm not that great at it. Not yet at least." Cooper blushed, shyly scratching the back of his head,"Though me and my brother are pretty good at music. He does vocals while I play guitar."  
"I tried learning how to play guitar before!" Varian replied,"I didn't get too far though. I'm much better at piano."  
"I could teach you sometime!" Cooper started to smile at Varian again, causing Varian to become bashful once more.  
"Y-yeah! I'd like that!" Varian, despite the butterflies in his stomach, smiled back at Cooper, a little embarrassed by how red his face was.  
Cooper chuckled as he gently reached for Varian's hand,"You're so cute."  
Varian was absolutely speechless! Is this why Cooper was such a blubbering mess earlier? Is holding someone's hand really that powerful? Was this karma for dragging Cooper by the hand earlier?   
"Varian, are you ok?" Cooper became concerned as Varian sat unresponsive.  
Varian panicked. It was like he wasn't in control of what he was about to do. With no thinking, with no impulse control, Varian grabbed Cooper by his shirt collar and kissed him.   
Cooper was a little shocked, and definitely turned a bright shade of red, but this was a welcome surprise. Cooper wrapped his arms around Varian, pulling him closer as they continued to kiss each other, becoming more comfortable by each other's touch each second.

❧  
"And then I said, well maybe I wouldn't be such a rebel if you and that damn council didn't have such high freaking standards, mom!" Originally, Morgan was not looking forward to talking to Rapunzel about his behavior, but as the conversation shifted to a vent session, he started to feel a lot better,"And then she said, well your brother lives under the same standard and he's doing just fine! Fine? Fine?! Cooper has depression, mother! Though he was also traumatized as a small child so that might have something to do with. But what am I saying? That's not my story to tell. The point is my mom is fucking full of it and the royal council is filled with inconsiderate assholes! When Cooper becomes king I hope he tries to get rid of each and every one of them!"  
Rapunzel, who had just received an earful of Morgan's personal information, tried to focus on just one thing for now, and they could unpack the rest later,"Does it upset you that Cooper's going to be king?"  
Morgan laughed as he shook his head,"It hasn't even been decided yet. I just know he's going to be king! Why would the council pick me? I sneak out to parties every night, I fool around all the time, my record is shit!"  
Rapunzel tried to word her thoughts in the nicest way possible, but this was a tough situation to be nice about,"Maybe if you tried to stop doing those things, you might be considered for the job!"  
Morgan rolled his eyes, scoffing at Rapunzel's response,"I don't want the job! Ruling a kingdom sounds like way too much work!   
Rapunzel smirked as she realized what was going on,"Oh I see!"  
"What?" Morgan asked, sassily raising an eyebrow.  
"You act out like this because deep down you know you it'll ruin your chances of becoming king!"  
"No! I'm just a little shit!" Morgan protested,"It is purely a coincidence that the things I enjoy happen to interfere with professionalism!"  
"I don't know, Morgan! Without all that partying you'd be a pretty good candidate. You're educated, talented, charismatic!"  
"Once again! Purely a coincidence! What do you think I am, some sort of coward?"  
"No no! I'm just saying this behavior may not be just because its fun. There's a deeper purpose to it."  
"Well there's not! You're just going to have to accept that I'm an absolute disaster for no reason! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed early because this conversation is tiring!" Morgan stormed into the castle, slamming the door behind him.  
Rapunzel sighed, feeling bad for the prince. She had hoped she'd help him feel better but instead he was so upset.  
That is, until the doors burst open and Morgan came running out crying,"You're right! I'm a coward!"  
"Oh! No, Morgan! You're not a coward!" Rapunzel welcomed Morgan back with open arms, hugging him as he cried on her shoulder,"Come on, lets get you inside. Do you want some hot chocolate?"  
"Hot chocolate is for dorks, I'll take some tea." Morgan replied through his sobs.  
Rapunzel, amused by how snappy Morgan was even through tears continued to walk him inside,"Alright, anything else, your highness?"  
Morgan wiped away his tears as he continued to speak,"Make sure its chamomile tea with a spoon full of honey and a pinch of cinnamon."  
"Alright alright. I'll see what I can do!"

❧  
Morgan had gone back to his room after tea with the princess and had made himself comfortable for the night. He was cozy in his pajamas and nice and snug in his bed. He was ready to drift off to sleep until Cooper came bursting in obnoxiously.  
"Morgan! I'm in love!" Cooper dramatically fell onto his bed, smiling from ear to ear.  
"Shut the fuck up! No one cares!" Morgan buried himself in his blankets, trying to ignore his brother.  
"But you said to come back with a first kiss story!" Cooper argued as he sat up.  
"That was then. This is now. Go to sleep!"  
Cooper snickered as he figured out why Morgan was being so aggressive,"You cried today, didn't you?"  
Morgan didn't verbally respond to Cooper, but he didn't need to. The pillow he was about to throw at him said everything Cooper needed to know!


	3. Return to Caerulus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its time for Cooper and Morgan to head home, but Varian and Cooper are having a hard time saying goodbye.

Cooper and Morgan had been in Corona for over a week now. Cooper and Varian spent everyday together. Morgan kept "making friends" and having his own, blasphemous fun. They didn't want this vacation to end, but the day they had to leave was inevitable.  
Cooper was sitting in Varian's lab, sitting back and watching Varian work. He was at peace, until a small blue bird flew in through the window holding a rolled up piece of paper.  
"Oh come on! I thought I solved my critter problem!" Varian complained with said critter problem, aka Ruddiger on top of his shoulder.  
"No, its from my mother!" Cooper extended his finger for the bird to rest, letting it drop the letter into his other hand,"She has this weird connection with birds. When she needs to send a message she asks for their help."  
Varian leaned against his table, watching Cooper handle the little bird in a confused manner,"Interesting."  
Cooper smiled at the small bird as he took it to the window,"Thank you."  
The bird flew off Cooper's finger, leaving Varian to wonder what the fuck just happened.  
"You talk to birds too?" Varian teased.  
Cooper laughed in response,"No! Well, sort of. Not in the way my mom does. She has full conversations with them. I just thank them! My mom taught me to treat all animals with respect."  
Varian skeptically raised his eyebrow as he pet Ruddiger,"All?"  
"That's different! Ruddiger bit me when I was only trying to introduce myself!"  
Ruddiger hissed at Cooper as they began to glare at each other. Varian couldn't help but laugh at them. Ruddiger was usually really friendly but for some reason he just didn't like Cooper!  
"Ok, well when you're done having a staring contest with my raccoon maybe you should look at the letter your mom sent you." Varian suggested as he got back to his work.  
"Oh, right!" Cooper quickly unrolled the paper, his playful smile turning to a look of dismay,"I-...I need to go! I have to go find Morgan. I-"  
Varian rushed to Cooper's side, gently holding his hand,"Hey, hey. Calm down. What's going on?"  
Cooper took a deep breath as he put the letter away,"The war is over, thank the gods! But my closest friend is injured! Me and Morgan have known Cameron since childhood! I can't believe this is happening-"  
"Wait, wait. Your kingdom lets people that young fight in wars?"  
"They're not supposed to! That's why I'm so worried! Did they ignore the law and send him to war anyway or was there an attack on the capitol city? Either way, something isn't right!"  
"Ok then, let's go find Morgan so you guys can go figure this out." Varian lead Cooper outside, eager to help him but sad that this meant Cooper had to go home soon.  
Cooper and Varian hopped onto Cooper's horse and hastily rode to the palace. Varian held on tightly to Cooper the whole way. He knew Cooper had things to settle, but he wished he could stay. And who knows how long it would be till they saw each other again. All he could do to keep his emotions at bay was hold onto Cooper as tight as he could.  
As they approached the palace, they could see Morgan about to take off on his own horse.  
"I was just about to come find you!" Morgan called out,"Did you get a letter too?"  
"Yeah. We need to head home right away!" Cooper replied as he got off his horse and helped Varian down.  
Once Varian reached the ground, he didn't let go of Cooper. He clutched onto the fabric of Cooper's shirt, laying his head on Cooper's chest. He felt comforted as Cooper wrapped an arm around him as he continued to talk to Morgan.  
"This late in day?" Morgan questioned,"The sun will be setting in like, two hours. The nearest inn outside Corona is at least six hours away! We shouldn't be traveling at night!"  
"What if we're too late?!" Cooper argued, "What if Cameron's dying?!"   
"He's not dying!"  
"How do you know?!"  
"Trust me! I-"  
As the twins argued, Eugene hurried out the castle doors,"Hey, Prince Skies! You can't just walk out of our hair care discussion like that and not tell me what's going on!"  
Cooper answered for Morgan without hesitation,"We need to go. Our friend might be dying."  
Eugene, although worried for their friend, was more concerned about the princes' safety,"Right now? Your highness, it isn't safe to travel this late! Please wait till morning."  
Morgan rolled his eyes,"That's what I tried to tell him, Eugene. But he won't listen."  
"You expect me to sit here while Cameron suffers?" Cooper argued.  
"Cooper," Varian finally spoke up, looking at Cooper with pleading eyes,"Please wait till morning. I don't want you to get hurt."  
"I-" Cooper tried to protest, but he couldn't say no to those puppy eyes,"Alright. We'll stay in Corona for one more night."  
Varian smiled, kissing Cooper on the cheek,"Thank you!"  
Eugene began to clap his hands with a playful grin,"Way to go, Varian! Using the good old fashion puppy dog eyes! Works every time!"  
Varian blushed, trying to laugh off his embarrassment,"Oh shut up, Eugene!"  
"No, no!" Morgan chimed in,"He's right! Works like a charm!"  
"See, Morgan, you get it!" Eugene praised with a finger gun,"Anyway! I'm glad we could work this out. Cooper, take Varian home before his father yells at you again. Morgan, go pack your stuff for tomorrow and get some rest."  
"Thank you, Mr. Fitzherbert!" Cooper waved as Eugene headed back to the castle.  
"Its Eugene, your highness!" Eugene replied as he waved back.  
"Oh, ok! Thank you Mr. Eugene!"  
"No, Cooper. It's-" Eugene took a deep breath and forced a smile,"Just get Varian home."  
Varian stood deathly still, his eyes widening,"Oh god I just realized my dad doesn't know I left the house."  
"Let's go!" Cooper quickly got himself and Varian onto his horse and rode as quickly as he could to Old Corona.  
Morgan and Eugene laughed, shaking their heads as they watched the two ride off.

❧  
"Thank you for having us, your majesty." Morgan thanked Corona's royal family as they stood by the palace gates.  
"Anytime, Prince Morgan." King Frederick replied.  
"Tell your mother we said hello." Queen Arianna patted Morgan on the shoulder,"and that we hope she's not causing too much havic."  
Rapunzel gave Morgan a huge hug,"I'm going to miss you guys!"  
"I'm going to miss you too!" Morgan hugged her back, then looked towards Cooper and Varian, who were having a private conversation a few feet away,"I'm more concerned about lover boys over there though!"  
Cooper and Varian ignored Morgan, and continued their discussion. They were holding each other tightly, sad they had to say goodbye.  
"Promise me you'll come visit again." Varian said sadly as he laid his head on Cooper's chest.  
"I promise." Cooper replied, taking his cloak off and putting it on Varian,"I have to come back for this after all."  
"Won't you need this? I don't want you to be cold!" Varian protested.  
"I'll be fine. Trust me, it only gets warmer the closer you get to Caerulus. Besides, I want you to have something to remember me by till I come back."  
"If you say so," Varian gave in, wrapping the fabric around himself,"Wow, this is so comfy!"  
Cooper chuckled,"Yeah, that's why I wear them all the time!"  
Varian laughed, but his smile started to fade to frown,"You should probably get going."  
"Oh, yeah. You're right. Just one more thing," Cooper embraced Varian once more, giving him a soft, but passionate kiss.  
Varian held Cooper close as they kissed goodbye. He didn't want it to end. He knew this wasn't goodbye forever. Cooper would come back someday, but what terrified him was that he didn't know when. How long would he have to wait? Months? Years? The uncertainty was killing him.  
As their lips parted, Cooper held Varian's hand, not wanting to leave just yet. He was definitely staling.  
"I'll see you later." Cooper, still not letting go of Varian's hand, gave Varian a kiss on the forehead before slowly backing away.  
Their fingers lingered as Cooper walked away. As they parted completely, Varian was trying so hard not to cry. He clutched onto the cloak's fabric as he watched Cooper and Morgan get on their horses. Cooper looked over at Varian, blowing him a kiss before he and his brother rode off.  
As they left, Rapunzel hurried over to Varian's side,"Are you ok, Varian?"  
"Yeah, yeah! I'm fine! I'll see him again someday." Varian replied, his voice cracking as tears welled up in his eyes,"I uh, I really need to get going! I have lots of stuff to do!"  
He hurried away as fast as he could, pulling the hood of Cooper's cloak up to make sure no one could see the tears streaming down his face as he headed home.


	4. A Glimpse of Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cooper and Morgan return home and check on their injured friend while Varian does some research on Caerulus

Varian typically didn't have a hard time keeping himself busy throughout the day. With his village becoming infested with black rocks, he had a lot to research before things got worse. 

His studies kept him from missing Cooper too much. He had written Cooper a letter, suggesting they write to each other often, but who knows how long it would take to get to Caerulus. Cooper left three days ago and he was probably just now getting home! Caerulus was so far.

Thinking about it made Varian a little more upset than usual. He was doing really well yesterday, but today he was starting to feel just as sad as the day Cooper left. But he didn't have time to be sad. He had important research to do. Instead of laying in bed with his sorrows, he put on Cooper's cloak and began to head towards his lab. 

He tried to hurry in order to avoid his dad. If his dad saw him looking this upset, he'd probably try to talk about, and Varian really didn't feel like talking about his emotions right now. But unfortunately for him, he was caught.

"Varian?" Quirin called out before Varian could hurry away,"Is something wrong?"

Varian turned away, the fakest smile on his face,"No! I'm fine! Just feeling sleepy is all. I just woke up."

Quirin could easily see through Varian's forced smile, and decided it'd be best if he and Varian had a chat. He pulled out a chair for Varian at the kitchen table, beckoning him to come sit,"Why don't we have a chat over breakfast? You're always in such a rush. I barely get to talk with you anymore."

Varian reluctantly sat down, nervous about what his dad wanted to talk about. Quirin placed their plates on the table and sat across from Varian,"Are you sure you're alright, son?"

"I'm fine!" Varian snapped, clutching on tightly to Cooper's cloak.

Quirin could tell what was going on just based on Varian's body language alone,"Ok, ok! Sorry for prying!"

The two ate their breakfast in silence. Varian really didn't feel like talking, and Quirin was trying to figure out how to talk with his son without upsetting him. 

He took a chance, and said the first thing that came to mind,"You know, I've been to Caerulus before. Their capital city is huge. Much bigger than any town here in Corona."

A tiny smile formed on Varian's face. As much as he missed Cooper, learning about his kingdom was really interesting,"What were you doing in Caerulus?"

"I had to go there for my, uh, work!" It wasn't until this moment that Quirin realized that talking about his trip to Caerulus was hard to do without mentioning his past in the brotherhood,”While I was there I even got to meet the queen. She’s an interesting woman, to say the least.”

Varian, knowing only the stories Cooper had told him, nearly choked on his food,”I’m sorry, you met who?!”

Quirin laughed, Varian’s reaction being all he needed to know about what Cooper had told Varian so far,”She’s not as bad as stories say. Yes, she is quick to judge others, but she has a heart. I thought I had upset her but luckily for me she spared me mercy. If anything, we should feel bad for her. I trust she’s doing better if she’s letting her sons travel so independently.”

Now Varian was extremely confused. All he had heard from Cooper was that the queen had a bad attitude and liked to start fights with other kingdoms,”What are you talking about?”

“Seems like someone doesn’t know their Caerulian history. Cooper really didn’t tell you?”

Varian shook his head,”No. He didn’t seem to like talking about his home life very much.”

Quirin frowned, starting to feel bad for the prince as he heard about Varian’s perception of the Skies family. He knew their history was troubled, he witnessed it first hand, but he thought for sure things had soothed over shortly after the twins were born. Of course, Quirin did stop paying attention to what was happening in Caerulus once his days in the Brotherhood were behind him, so who knows what's happened since then.

“I’m sure the library has something on Caerulus.” Quirin suggested, feeling it was best if Varian learned the truth on his own. Not to mention it would give him something to do outside of his dark, dusty lab. 

“I haven’t been to the library in awhile.” Varian admitted, starting to agree with his father’s suggestion,”maybe I’ll head over this afternoon!”

Quirin smiled, glad that his son was looking a little less gloomy.

❧

“What happened here?” Cooper looked around in disbelief, scared to find out what happened while he and Morgan were gone.

They were in a small forest that wasn’t too far from the capitol city, only about thirty minutes away on horse. The trees had gashes in them, some were barely standing. There were footprints everywhere, indicating a large number of people fought here. Morgan winced when he saw traces of blood on the ground.

“God, I hope the city is alright.” Morgan said as he looked away, trying to keep his focus ahead of him.

“I don’t understand. Battles never get this close to the city!” Cooper clutched on tightly to his horse’s reins, his mind filling with horrible possibilities,”You don’t think they attacked the city, do you?”

Morgan sighed anxiously,”There’s only one way to find out.”

The two hurried into town, getting more and more anxious as they got closer. Would their home still be standing? Was Cameron ok? So many things could have gone wrong, and they were terrified to know the truth.

As they rode into town, they could breathe easy again. Everything was just as they left it. Every building was in order. The cobblestone streets were even cleaner than usual. However, Cooper and Morgan did notice one oddity: Where was everyone? The streets were usually so busy this time of day, but they only saw two or three people go by. Perhaps the war getting so close frightened everyone. 

“Under normal circumstances I’d be happy no one was following us around, trying to get our attention,” Cooper admitted, looking around cautiously,”But this is just creepy.”

“Speak for yourself. I miss the people!” Morgan retorted, sad to see his once busy home so silent,”This is depressing. Lets go check up on Cameron.”

“Yeah, because seeing our best friend injured isn’t going to be any less depressing.” Cooper replied sarcastically.

“Oh shut up, Cooper!” Morgan rode ahead of his brother, fed up with his pessimistic attitude.

Typically, Cooper and Morgan would be filled with excitement whenever they approached Cameron's house. Yes, his house was small, but Cameron always knew how to have fun! Not to mention his family was so nice! But this time, heading to Cameron's house filled them with dread. They had no clue how serious his injury was and they were scared to find out.

Cooper took a deep breath as he knocked on the door, anxiously waiting for either Cameron’s mother or cousin to answer. This time it was his cousin, Mateo!

“Hey! You guys are back!” Mateo smiled as he opened the door for Cooper and Morgan. He gave the two a huge hug once they got inside,”Man, I’m so glad you guys are back! Maybe you can talk some sense into my stupid cousin!”

Hugging Mateo always felt a little awkward because of how short he was. He was older than Cooper, Morgan, and Cameron by several years yet his size and chubby appearance made him look so young. But Cooper and Morgan were happy to hug him anyway.

“Talk some sense? What did he do this time?” Cooper questioned, now terribly curious about what nonsense Cameron was up to this time.

“Go ask him yourself! I’m sure he’d love to tell you the whole story!” Mateo gestured towards Cameron's room,”Why don't you go keep him company? I have to go pick up Marina from work. You know how she hates traveling by herself!”

“Of course! Thanks Mateo.” Morgan gave him a pat on the shoulder before he took off,”Alright. Let's go see what the damage is.”

As Cooper and Morgan entered Cameron’s room, they saw Cameron sitting up in bed, looking quite annoyed and fidgety. He had bandages wrapped around his waist, blood stains on his right side. Cameron was arguably one of tallest, fittest fourteen year olds in all of Caerulus, so there was no question that he was pretty tough. However, it was impossible to hide the small winces he made as he shifted his posture.

“Now I know this looks bad!” Cameron attempted to sit up a little straighter once Cooper and Morgan entered his room,”But I can guarantee that I’m fine!”

“Bullshit!” Morgan yelled, hastily making his way to Cameron's bedside,”What the fuck happened?!”

“Simple!” Cameron grinned,”I got stabbed!”

Morgan cupped his face in his hands, tiredly rubbing his eyes,”Oh my god, Cameron.”

“Why are you smiling about getting stabbed?!” Cooper asked pointedly,”Tell us the whole story!”

“Ok, so it all started when I heard the enemy was not too far from here,” Cameron started to explain excitedly,”So i grabbed my sword and decided to-”

Morgan interrupted, staring blankly at his injured friend,”If that sentence ends with you decided to join the fight I will smack the shit out of you.”

Cameron smirked playfully at Morgan, looking him dead in the eye,”So i decided to join the fight-”

_Smack!_ Morgan slapped him right across the face,”What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

“Hey now! I know Cameron’s actions were pretty stupid but there’s no need to get violent!” Cooper lectured.

“Actually, that was kind of hot! Do it again.” Cameron teased.

“You disgust me.” Morgan glared at Cameron, concerned for his health but so fucking mad at his decisions.

“I don’t know why you’re so upset! I’m fine!” Cameron protested.

“You’re hurt!” Cooper argued,”Not only that, but you broke the law! You are far too young to be fighting in a war! There’s a reason why the legal age is eighteen!” 

“There goes Cooper, caring about the law again!” Cameron joked, playfully rolling his eyes. 

“Cam, this is serious! We could have lost you!”

“You wanna talk serious? Fine!” Cameron raised his voice, defensively crossing his arms,”Why don’t you ask your crazy mother to stop starting so many wars? Maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess if she didn’t make so many enemies!”

“Ok, guys! Calm down!” Morgan shouted as he saw Cooper turn red with anger,”Lets give each other some space. I mean, I literally hit Cameron. I think we all need to chill.” 

“Smart as always, Morgan.” Cameron smiled, grabbing Morgan’s hand.

Morgan immediately pulled his hand away,”Don’t touch me, I’m still mad at you.”

Cooper took a deep breath, trying to keep himself from getting too worked up, ”You’re right. Morgan, let’s go home. I’m sure mom’s dying to see us.”

❧

“Varian! It’s been awhile!” The librarian cheerfully greeted Varian as he entered Corona’s library,”We just got some new books on alchemy if you’re interested!”

Varian laughed softly,”I will definitely be checking those out later! But I was actually looking for something else.”

“Alright, what were you looking for?”

“Well, um,” Varian felt a bit odd asking for something that wasn’t his typical request, and was a little scared the librarian would put two and two togther and tease him,”I was wondering if you had anything on Caerulus? Specifically the royal family’s history?”

The librarian grinned,”Ah! I see! I don’t have too much on that subject, but I do have two books that might help.”

The librarian led Varian to a bookshelf in the back, which Varian recognized as the history section. She handed him a rather large, blue book,”This book has the history of every single ruler Caerulus has had. I’m assuming you’re looking for their current ruler’s history, given your situation. I’d suggest reading up on Seth Verso. His reign had a major influence on their current queen! It's a fascinating story! Although very sad.” 

“Seth Verso! Got it!” Varian noted, following the librarian to another section of the library.

“And this book is about the queen!”She handed him a much smaller book, only to receive protest from Varian.

“This is a children’s book.” Varian pointed out, assuming she handed him the wrong thing.

“Some fairy tales are born of truth!” She rebuttaled,”Besides, it's the closest to a biography we’ve got!”

Varian judgingly raised an eyebrow, completely unconvinced,”It's called The Fairy Queen.”

“Just give it a read! Maybe you can make connections between the history book and the fairy tale! Come up with your own theories! Not much is known about the queen anyway!”

“She’s alive! I’m pretty sure they could just ask her!”

The librarian stared at him blankly, becoming too tired to argue much longer,”Just read the books, Varian.”

“Ok ok! Thank you!” Varian left her alone and found a quiet table to start reading. 

❧

“Mom! We’re home!”

Cooper and Morgan entered their palace’s gardens, knowing they’d find their mother there. Like always, Queen Jaylen was sitting in her gazebo with a cup of tea, watching the birds fly past. She was dolled up as usual. She had on her favorite long, flowing light blue dress and her light blonde hair was in ring curls, delicately hanging off her shoulder. The most peculiar thing about her today was that her diamond crown was replaced with a pink flower crown, though knowing their mom’s love for nature, this didn’t come as a shock for the two boys. 

She turned her head in their direction, smiling brightly as she saw her sons approaching, walking over to them with open arms,”Welcome home, my sweet angels!”

Cooper was the first to give his mother a hug,”We missed you, mom!”

Morgan followed in suit,”Yeah, the war had us worried sick!”

“Oh, you two aren’t supposed to be worrying about that! That’s why I sent you away for a while! I didn’t want you to get caught up with that! Now come here, tell me all about your trip!” Jaylen led them to her gazebo, prompting her sons to sit down.

“Actually mother,” Cooper spoke up bashfully, scared of starting a fight with his mom,”We were hoping we could talk about what’s going on here.”

“Everything is all settled. There is nothing to worry about.” She quickly derailed the conversation, turning towards her favorite butler who was headed their way,”Ah! Harvey! You look like you have something to say! What is it?”

Harvey, a very tall scrawny man, handed an envelope to Cooper,”This just came in for you, your highness.”

“What? We’ve only been home for a few hours!” Cooper looked over the envelope, pleasantly surprised to see it was from Varian,”I think I’ll read this later! It's a bit of a personal matter.”

Morgan smirked,”It’s from Varian isn’t it?”

“Oh? Who’s Varian?” The queen asked.

“Cooper’s new boyfriend!” Morgan teased.

“Shut up!” Cooper yelled, turning bright red.

Jaylen just laughed,”That’s wonderful, Cooper! Hopefully I get to meet him one day.”

“I hope so too.” Cooper realized how distracted he had become, and tried to steer the conversation back to his original topic,”But really mom. I know you don’t want to talk about it, but please tell me there won’t be any more wars? This one got dangerously close to our home.Citizens could have been hurt.”

Jaylen sighed, nervously smoothing out the ripples on her dress,”I know. The council has been lecturing me too. We’re working on ways to mend our relationships with other nations to avoid another war.”

“Does it involve managing your anger issues?” Morgan asked bluntly, unlike Cooper, Morgan didn’t care if he upset their mom.

Instead of yelling, Jaylen just laughed,”Yes, Morgan. That’s step number one. Now please, tell me more about this Varian boy, Cooper. I’m assuming you met in Corona?”

“Yeah, he’s a friend of Rapunzel’s.” Cooper explained, gripping onto the envelope he had received,”He’s an alchemist! He’s really smart!”

“Oh fasicanting! And what of his family? What are they like?” Jaylen continued to question, sipping her tea as she listened.

“It's just him and his dad, Quirin.”

Morgan snickered,”I like Quirin. He yells at Cooper a lot and it's the funniest thing ever because Cooper deserved it every time.”

Jaylen didn’t quite catch what Morgan had said. She was too busy pondering, searching her memories,”Quirin...Quirin...I’ve heard that name before. Harvey! Do I know any Quirins?”

“Yes, your majesty! You tried to kill him!”

“Ah yes! I remember now! Thank you, Harvey!”

Cooper and Morgan could not believe what they were hearing, their jaws dropping,”You tried to what?!”

“Oh so then that would mean Varian is-” Jaylen stopped as she saw her son’s shocked expressions,”On second thought, perhaps I’ve said too much.”

“Varian’s what?! Please finish that thought!” Cooper eagerly requested,”Is it bad?!”

Jaylen thought it over, innocently tapping her finger on her chin,”Possibly.”

“POSSIBLY?!” Cooper anxiously shouted on the edge of his seat.

“Well it's not my story to tell, sweetheart! Perhaps you should ask Quirin next time you visit Corona!” 

Cooper groaned as he laid back in his seat, feeling exhausted both physically and mentally.

“I think you two should get some rest.” Jaylen suggested, getting up and leading them back to the palace.

❧

“Verso...Verso…” Varian flipped through the pages of the large history book, trying to find the information the librarian was telling him about,”Ah, here he is!”

The book showed a sketch of who Varian assumed to be Seth Verso. He was tall, slender, and his outfit kind of reminded Varian of Cooper and Morgan. Perhaps fancy vests and capes were just Caerulian fashion. What really caught Varian’s attention though was the way the artist shaded his hair. There was a large streak of hair that wasn't shaded at all, as opposed to the rest of his hair that was very darkly shaded. Varian couldn't tell if the artist just never finished their drawing or if Seth had a second color in his hair. It kind of reminded Varian of his own hair stripe.

Varian began to read about him, and was shocked to read this man’s story. The book read:

_ Seth Verso, who Caerulian citizens refer to as the demon king, ruled Caerulus after the mysterious disappearance of Caerulus’s royal family, who had passed down the throne for centuries. Beforehand, he had served in the Royal Council, so he was familiar with Caerulian law. His peers originally were hopeful when Verso took the throne, but as time went on he proved himself to be a tyrant. _

“Ah, so he killed them probably,” Varian thought to himself as he continued to read. 

__

__

_ Under his law, the economy suffered. Taxes were raised. Jobs were lost. Smaller towns became major poverty zones, but Verso never saw the damage he was causing because he refused to leave the lavish capitol city.  _

_ Not only did the economy suffer, but many lives were lost. Verso had a vicious temper, and would have people executed for the smallest of reasons. He once had a servant hung because he had gotten the king’s morning tea wrong.  _

_ He had closed many of Caerulus’s schools and museums, claiming they were a waste of money and resources. Caerulus had gone from the science capital of the world to a nation that could barely read. _

_ Although many would argue the name “Demon King” stems from his atrocious acts, many Caerulian citizens claim that Verso was in fact, an actual demon. A former maid from the palace explained that she witnessed Verso’s eyes go pitch black as he yelled at one of his servants. However, there is no proof other than hearsay that Verso was a demon. _

Varian found this all rather interesting, but wasn't sure what this had to do with Cooper and Morgan's mom. The rest of the page was just more stories of people explaining why this guy might have been a demon. 

He turned the page, and his confusion was suddenly lifted. This page also had a sketch, but this time of a young woman who looked a lot like Cooper and Morgan. She was drawn in a delicate flowing dress, with flowers in her hair. This segment of the book was labeled “The So-Called Fairy Queen.” Maybe this chapter would clear up why Varian was handed a children’s book of a similar title.

The chapter said:

_ No one quite knows where Jaylen Skies came from, but her mysterious arrival led to the fall of Seth Verso. Skies had traveled to Caerulus from an unknown location, some claiming she’s a spirit from an enchanted wood. Skies was appalled by the injustice she saw. She confronted Verso about his mistreatment towards his kingdom and he tried to have her executed. Skies fought back, defeating Verso. Verso vanished after being defeated, many believed he had died. _

_ It was agreed that Skies would be the next to take the throne, since she defeated Verso and clearly showed care for the country. She reopened every school and museum, making Caerulus gain its academic reputation back. She even made the cost of living more affordable than even before Verso. She ruled on her own for two years, until Verso returned to Caerulus, disproving any ideas that he had died. He was intent on getting the throne back, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to defeat the queen. He instead forced her to marry him by threatening to kill citizens. Not wanting to lose any innocent lives, Skies married him, making him king of Caerulus once more. _

And then the book ended. Varian took into account that this was probably fairly recent compared to everything else in this book considering Jaylen was still alive, but surely that couldn’t be the current state of the Caerulian royal family. Cooper never mentioned a father. No one ever mentioned a king. It was always just the queen people talked about. What had happened between Jaylen’s forced marriage and now?

Varian groaned as he realized he had to read the children’s book. It felt silly, but he had nothing else. Like many children’s books it had a lot of illustrations. The pictures of the queen almost looked identical to the picture in the history book, but this time she was featured with fairy wings. Varian expected the story to be absolute nonsense, but based on what he read about Jaylen so far, this story was fairly accurate when you put the magic elements aside. It read:

_ Once upon a time, there was a powerful fairy from an enchanted forest. One day, the fairy left her home in the forest to explore the world and all its majesty, but instead she discovered a kingdom ruled by evil. She used her magic powers to get rid of the kingdom’s evil king, saving the kingdom’s people. She became a hero, and was crowned the new queen! _

_ But the evil king came back and trapped the fairy. She was trapped in the castle with him for years. Until one day, she snuck her way out in hopes of finding the evil king’s true weakness. To get rid of him once and for all! She hurried back to her enchanted forest, seeking the advice of the nature spirits. They gave her a crystal that would destroy any form of evil. She hurried back to her kingdom and used the crystal to destroy the evil king! The kingdom was free from evil forever!  _

__

“...Huh.” Varian muttered as he closed the book, not sure how to process what he just read. Clearly Seth was no longer part of the picture, and that children’s book didn’t mention anything about twin princes so Cooper and Morgan probably weren’t born till after Seth had gone permanently. But there were two things Varian still had questions about.

What was the real version of that story? How did Jaylen actually defeat Seth? Spirits giving her a magic crystal didn’t sound entirely realistic, so that couldn’t be the truth. 

And if Jaylen was as hot headed as Cooper described, why was she regarded as an innocent hero in these books? Perhaps she used to be that way but the trauma of being forced into a marriage changed her? Or maybe she was always hot headed and the authors were too scared to write her that way. There was still so much Varian wanted to know.

But on the bright side, he wasn’t feeling as blue as he was this morning. Getting out and learning something new felt really good. It was time for him to go back home to his research, but not before checking out those alchemy books he was told about. 

❧

Cooper should have been in bed. He was tired, and his eyes were beginning to droop. But he wouldn’t go to sleep till he read Varian’s letter. He jumped onto his bed, laying back as he opened the envelope and read its contents:

_ Cooper, _

_ Yes, yes I did write this as soon as you left. No those water stains are not from tears. I just spilt a bit of water onto the paper. Don’t laugh at me! Anyways, I was thinking maybe we could write back and forth to keep in touch? I know it will be awhile before I see you again, and I don’t want to lose contact with you. I’ve never been this close to someone before and I want to maintain this relationship. I hope you feel the same, and I hope I hear from you soon. _

~~_ Sincerely, _ ~~

~~_ Yours Truly, _ ~~

_ Love, _

_ Varian _

Cooper smiled, amused by how many takes it took Varian to find the right ending. He closed the letter and held it to his chest. His heart was beating so loudly. He told himself he would sleep after reading the letter, but right now he was more concerned with finding a pen and paper. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me forever and I apologize. It might take awhile for me to release chapter five because I have finals coming up. Hopefully after finals I can get chapters out a lot quicker. Thank you so much for your time and patience!


End file.
